A SOUTHAMPTON taxi driver who collided with and killed a pensioner has been disqualified from driving.

Barry Doyle, 71, of Brentwood Crescent, Southampton, admitted causing death by careless driving at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard how Doyle was driving a Vauxhall Zafira in the car park of Adelaide Western Community Hospital, Millbrook, when he reversed into Denis Lavington.

The 84-year-old, from Southampton, was taken to Southampton General Hospital but died three weeks later in hospital.

Doyle pleaded guilty to the charge on the second day of his trial.

He was initially handed a driving ban and a community order after admitting the offence at a Magistrates’ hearing in 2016, but decided to later appeal his own plea and conviction despite having already completed 105 hours of unpaid work, the court heard.

He was ordered to complete 225 hours unpaid work and was disqualified from driving for 24 months.

However, Doyle will only complete 120 hours of the work as a result of the 105 hours already completed, and the ban will expire after 14 months due to Doyle having already observed 10 months following his initial guilty plea in 2016.

PC Lucy Hawkins, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This was a tragic case, and our investigations have proven that there was no excuse for Doyle not seeing Mr Lavington as he was reversing his car.

“Doyle, who was a professional driver, should have been paying full attention to his surroundings.

“If he had been doing this, he would have seen Mr Lavington and this tragedy would have been avoided.

“This shows just how important it is for motorists to pay attention to their surroundings at all times, whether you are on the road or in a car park.

“The case is aggravated by the fact that Doyle had already admitted the offence in 2016 and observed a large portion of his punishment, before changing his mind some time later. Today, he decided to change his mind once again.

“The judge remarked that Mr Doyle would not receive any credit for today’s guilty plea because of this.”

In addition to the community order and the disqualification, Doyle was ordered to pay £1,500 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.